Attoff



(No Model.)

S. DUNN.

, AMALGAMATOR. I NC. 555,762. Patented Mar.3,1896..

fig: .2

WVE/VTOR lJNiTEn STATES PATENT OFFICE,

SETH DUNN, OF MONTICELLO, UTAII, ASSIGNOR OF 'lWVO-THIRDS TO ULYSSES G. MERRILL AND W'ILLIAM S. MERRILL, OF SAME PLACE.

* AMALGAIVIATO R.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 555,762, dated March 3, 1896.

Application filed May 15, 1895. Serial No. 549,416. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, SETH DUNN, of Monticello, in the county of San Juan and Territory of Utah, have invented a new and Improved 5 Amalgamator, of which the following is afull,

clear, and exact description.

The object of the invention is to provide a new and improved amalgamator which is simple and durable in construction, very effective 10 in operation, and more especially designed for placer mining and milling amalgamation of free-milling ores.

The invention consists principally of a riffleframe arranged to swing and extending in an inclined downward direction, and means for imparting a shaking motion to the said frame.

The invention also consists of certain parts and details and combinations of the same, as will be fully described hereinafter and then pointed out in the claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure l is a plan view of the improvement with parts broken out. Fig. 2 is a sectional side elevation of the same 011 the line 2 2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a cross-section of the same on the line 3 3 of Fig. 2, and Fig. 4 is a sectional plan view of part of the improvement on the line 4 4 of Fig. 2.

The improved amalgamator is provided with a suitably-constructed frame A, in one end of which is arranged a hopper B, having a hinged cover or lid B, adapted to be swung open, as indicated in Figs. 1 and 2.

The frame A is made in the form of a casing designed to be entirely closed at its top and rear end when the machine is in operation, but in order to reach the interior for the purpose of removing the amalgamated gold and to reach the working parts for the purpose of cleaning or repairing the top cover is hinged to one of the side pieces and the rear end is made in the form of a hinged door.

In the hopper l3 and its cover B is mounted to turn a water-wheel 0, having the usual buckets and deriving its supply of water and gold-bearing sand to be amalgamated through a suitable chute connected with the top of the cover B. The wheel C is thus rotated by the force of the water and sand passing through the wheel, and the water and sand are delivered in measured quantities upon a downwardlyextending chute D, arranged under the open bottom of the hopper B and extendin g a suitable distance do wnward in the frame A, to finally discharge upon a second chute E, inclined downwardly from the topof the frame A, but in an opposite direction to the inclination of the chute D.

The lower end of the chute E discharges upon the head of a riflie-frame F, provided with transversely extending riffles F" and hung on links H and H, pivoted at their upper ends to the frame A, as indicated in the drawings. The riffie-frame F extends in a downward direction,and the riffles consist of a series of parallel corrugations arranged closely together and transversely rounded, so that the water and sand will not be greatly retarded and so that upon imparting a shaking motion to the riffie-frame the gold settles in the quicksilver contained in the bottom between adjacent riffles, while the sand and water passes over the riffles, to be finall y discharged at the lower end of the frame.

The riffle-frame F receives its shaking motion from the water-Wheel C, and for this. purpose one of the links H is provided with a pin H extending through an elongated slot 1 in a link I, pivotally connected with an arm J, extending from a shaft J, mounted to turn in suitable bearings in the sides of the frame A. An arm J is secured on the shaft J and forms with the arm J a bell-crank lever, and this arm J 2 is connected by a link K with an arm L, attached to the shaft 0 of the waterwheel 0. Thus when the wheel is rotated by the force of the Water and sand passing through the wheel 0, the said wheel imparts a swinging motion to the riifle-frame F, whereby the gold-bearing sand is agitated in the manner previously described. Thus it will be seen that the water-wheel O has a double function, by first delivering a measured quantity of water and sand to the chute D and finally by the chute E to the riffleframe F, and, secondly, the riffle frame receives a swinging motion from the said \lH/DQIWVhGOl by the mechanism above described.

Having thus fully described my invention,

I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent 1. An amalgamator comprising a frame made in the form of a casing having a hinged top and a hinged rear end, a hopper on one end of said frame having a cover provided With a chute, a feed-Wheel in said hopper oppositely-inclined chutes for receiving material from the hopper, a riffle-frame adapted to swing, and mechanism having connection with the feed- Wheel for moving the riflieframe, substantially as specified.

2. An amalgamator comprising an inclined frame having a hopper at its upper end, the said hopper comprising a cover having a chute 

